Simple food safety training for informal vendors can limit the spread of SARS, avian influenza, tuberculosis and pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli, said the book, “Food safety and informal markets: Animal products in sub-Saharan Africa”. Continue reading
Writing in the November 2014 issue of Rural 21, Isabelle Baltenweck argues that the growing global demand for animal products also offers poor livestock keepers the opportunity to switch from the subsistence to the market economy. Continue reading
Cowpea fodder bundles stacked in Niger for livestock feed (photo credit: ILRI). ‘Of the many virtues of grain legumes, one is little recognized. Visitors to the livestock fodder markets of West Africa are always surprised to see groundnut and cowpea haulms (stalks and stems of legume plants) sold at prices that exceed that of cereal … Continue reading
ILRI’s support to smallholder dairy development has benefited the Kenyan economy. The benefits of policy change include improved safety of milk, increased profit margins for small-scale vendors, greater access to milk for poor consumers, and employment for many others in the sector, with knock-on benefits for the wider economy. Building on the Kenyan approach, an initiative to improve milk handling among traders in Assam in India resulted in a new governance institution, increased risk mitigation, improvements in milk quality, higher sales and increased customer satisfaction. Continue reading
Jo Cadilhon an agricultural economist at ILRI presented a paper on ‘Field testing a conceptual framework for innovation platform impact assessment: the case of MilkIT dairy platforms in Tanga region, Tanzania’ at this week’s (27-30 October 2014) 6th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya. Continue reading
The objective of the Australia Awards – Africa Fellowships is to develop the capacity and leadership skills of Africans so they can contribute more effectively to development in their home countries. Continue reading
Typical long-horned goats of Abergelle Amhara, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Zerihun Sewunet). ‘Quantitative information on the importance of livestock systems in African drylands is scarce. A new study by Tim Robinson, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Giulia Conchedda, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), helps to redress this. The study … Continue reading
ILRI’s Tim Robinson maps the changing demand for livestock products and associated changes in production that will be required to meet future demand in African drylands. Continue reading
This report reviews past and present goat research and development activities in Ethiopia, drawing key lessons, identifying key constraints and opportunities, and suggesting research and development interventions to improve goat production and productivity. Continue reading
Research shows the developing world undergoing a ‘livestock revolution’ characterized by accelerating demand for livestock products due to increasing populations and incomes. This livestock revolution is creating new opportunities for rural producers to participate in income-generating livestock enterprises. Two regions that experts regard as the most critical for reaching the poorest are sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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ILRI Clippings 